PHOENIX -- Arizona Diamondbacks' (@Dbacks) manager Torey Lovullo will be honored as the recipient of the Tommy Lasorda Managerial Achievement Award at the 16th Annual Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation's "In the Spirit of the Game" Fundraiser tomorrow, Jan. 12, 2019 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. In addition, D-backs special assignment scout Tim Wilken will be presented the Legends in Scouting Award. u5:p
Lovullo, who is entering his third season with the D-backs, was the 2017 National League Manager of the Year in his first season as a manager after leading Arizona to a 93-69 record and a Wild Card victory over the Rockies. He was the seventh manager all-time to earn the award as a rookie manager, while his 93 wins that season were the most in team history by a first-year skipper. u5:p
In 2018, Lovullo led the D-backs to a 82-80 record with the club holding the top spot in the NL West standings for 125 days. He earned his 100th win in his 171st regular season game as a Major League manager on April 8 @ Cardinals, becoming the fastest active manager to reach the 100-win milestone.u5:p
Lovullo will receive the honor from Hall of Fame manager, Tommy Lasorda, and current Dodger manager and fellow UCLA alumnus, Dave Roberts. Lovullo will join previous managers honored including Terry Francona, Roberts, Terry Collins, Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, Don Mattingly, Jim Leyland, Mike Scioscia, Bobby Cox, Whitey Herzog, Tony La Russa and Bobby Valentine. u5:p
Wilken, a 2016 inductee into the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame, is entering his fourth season with the D-backs and his second in his current role after spending the 2016-17 seasons as a special assistant to the general manager. Prior to joining Arizona, he spent 10 seasons with the Cubs, serving as a special assistant to the president and general manager from 2012-15 and director of amateur and professional scouting from 2006-12, with several players he drafted playing significant roles in the Cubs' 2016 World Championship. He also spent 3 seasons with the Rays from 2003-05 in the same roles. u5:p
Wilken began his career with 25 seasons in the Blue Jays' organization from 1979-2002, rising to the position of vice president of baseball operations. The club was later honored as Baseball America's Organization of the Year in 2003.u5:p
The Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation was started by former player agent Dennis Gilbert and D-backs executive Roland Hemond, among others. The foundation assists the dedicated baseball scouts across the country, who have given so much back to the great game. Gilbert's group helps those scouts in need. Over the past 15 years, many of Major League Baseball's current and former stars have been among the 1,500 guests in attendance. This strong support has helped the foundation raise nearly $2 million for the scouts.u5:p
The cocktail reception and silent auction with begin at 5:00 p.m. with the dinner and awards starting at 7:00 p.m. Tickets and sponsorship packages are available by calling (818) 224-3906.u5:p